As some of you may remember, about a year ago, a bully was picking on my son and shoving him. I put him in mixed martial arts, taekwondo and jiu jitsu, right away. Since then, he has progressed very well (He tests for his green belt--6th gup this Tuesday; he is currently a green stripe--7th gup.), and I am not worried that he cannot take care of himself anymore.
Yesterday evening, we returned from an out-of-town taekwondo championship tournament, one of four my son has participated in. This one was double-elimination. He did remarkable, and I have never been more proud of him. The young man he is growing into is kind and thoughtful. He is a true gentleman and a champion...and yes, you can be both at the same time, as these videos will show, but you have to watch them all.
This is what we are dealing with:
Cole won all of his matches, all five of them. But they gave him second place because they didn't count all of his head kicks. Head kicks are worth three points each. (Don't worry. The kids are well-padded. That's another thing I like about TKD.) We knew it before we left that they totally did him wrong though!
Master Joaquin only coached him half the time; the other half of the time, my husband coached him. My husband is not a trained coach, but Master Joaquin was stretched thin between matches with his other students and tried to get back to us as he could.
We looked at the video of all of his matches, and you can clearly see four head kicks with the first match not being counted, then again, four, possibly six or more with the last match. I just learned that we can't appeal, since it's not sanctioned or the Nationals, but I think I should be able to air my grievances in hopes that they don't do this to another kid again...and yes, I understand that mistakes will be made...but seriously, THAT many? (I noticed that they had to recalibrate the software to the judges' score sticks at least twice during other matches on that same ring. It could have also been a judgement error, two of the three judges have to press their buttons when a point is scored (middle = one point; head = three; spinning = plus one, except to the head which equals none since they follow TKD Junior Safety League Rules). The only way to know for sure if it was a judgement error would be to view the footage with better clarity to the score screen in the background that records when and which judge scores a point. So, if it was a software error or a judgement error, we may never know. Regardless, they need to work out the kinks, especially since this is their 10th year running.)
Of special mention, in one of the matches, my son hit this kid in the chest so hard (but it didn't look that hard) with his fist, the kid fell to his knees and was gasping for breath. (If you know anything about TKD, it's mostly a martial art of the foot and can be quite graceful. Although the hands are also used, special emphasis is placed on kicking. I have watched many videos of others in TKD matches and seen some in person, and I rarely see hand hits scored. They scored Cole's hit though.) I was so scared for the poor kid. I said a prayer in my mind that he would be alright. They gave him quite a while to get back up on his feet, but he couldn't for a while. Master Joaquin told the judges, score keepers, officials, and the other coach that the kid only had so many seconds to stand back up before he would be counted out (like in boxing). They were like, "Oh yes, we forgot about that rule." sigh. They called the match and gave it to Cole with about 38 seconds left in the round, but the other boy had not scored any points, and I think Cole was at or near the double digits with him at that point. After the match, Cole walked over to the boy to check on him, patted him, and wished him well. Throughout the contest, you will see my son reach to pick up the other opponent who had fallen or retrieve head gear that slipped in his path. In competition or in practice, he is always sure to shake his opponent's hand whether he wins or loses. Always a true gentleman.
I have never seen Cole fight so hard. He went in there and never gave up, never stopped fighting. It was a fair division, and he dominated. He was a true champion. We are so proud of him. He feels devastated though. He's a kid. We explained to him that this is how life goes sometimes, unfair, and we have to learn to live with it. But he's right. It's not fair. If anything, Cole learned a lot through this tournament, and it was a great teaching experience. But I'd like to teach him that it's also okay to stand up for yourself when you are right and to not just roll over and take it. That was the whole point of my putting him in TKD in the first place, now wasn't it?
Anyway, read my comments to each video and check them out. Let me know if you see it differently. Honest feedback welcome. Thanks! -TJ
1st Match:
2nd Match:
3rd Match:
4th Match:
5th Match:
Yesterday evening, we returned from an out-of-town taekwondo championship tournament, one of four my son has participated in. This one was double-elimination. He did remarkable, and I have never been more proud of him. The young man he is growing into is kind and thoughtful. He is a true gentleman and a champion...and yes, you can be both at the same time, as these videos will show, but you have to watch them all.
This is what we are dealing with:
Cole won all of his matches, all five of them. But they gave him second place because they didn't count all of his head kicks. Head kicks are worth three points each. (Don't worry. The kids are well-padded. That's another thing I like about TKD.) We knew it before we left that they totally did him wrong though!
Master Joaquin only coached him half the time; the other half of the time, my husband coached him. My husband is not a trained coach, but Master Joaquin was stretched thin between matches with his other students and tried to get back to us as he could.
We looked at the video of all of his matches, and you can clearly see four head kicks with the first match not being counted, then again, four, possibly six or more with the last match. I just learned that we can't appeal, since it's not sanctioned or the Nationals, but I think I should be able to air my grievances in hopes that they don't do this to another kid again...and yes, I understand that mistakes will be made...but seriously, THAT many? (I noticed that they had to recalibrate the software to the judges' score sticks at least twice during other matches on that same ring. It could have also been a judgement error, two of the three judges have to press their buttons when a point is scored (middle = one point; head = three; spinning = plus one, except to the head which equals none since they follow TKD Junior Safety League Rules). The only way to know for sure if it was a judgement error would be to view the footage with better clarity to the score screen in the background that records when and which judge scores a point. So, if it was a software error or a judgement error, we may never know. Regardless, they need to work out the kinks, especially since this is their 10th year running.)
Of special mention, in one of the matches, my son hit this kid in the chest so hard (but it didn't look that hard) with his fist, the kid fell to his knees and was gasping for breath. (If you know anything about TKD, it's mostly a martial art of the foot and can be quite graceful. Although the hands are also used, special emphasis is placed on kicking. I have watched many videos of others in TKD matches and seen some in person, and I rarely see hand hits scored. They scored Cole's hit though.) I was so scared for the poor kid. I said a prayer in my mind that he would be alright. They gave him quite a while to get back up on his feet, but he couldn't for a while. Master Joaquin told the judges, score keepers, officials, and the other coach that the kid only had so many seconds to stand back up before he would be counted out (like in boxing). They were like, "Oh yes, we forgot about that rule." sigh. They called the match and gave it to Cole with about 38 seconds left in the round, but the other boy had not scored any points, and I think Cole was at or near the double digits with him at that point. After the match, Cole walked over to the boy to check on him, patted him, and wished him well. Throughout the contest, you will see my son reach to pick up the other opponent who had fallen or retrieve head gear that slipped in his path. In competition or in practice, he is always sure to shake his opponent's hand whether he wins or loses. Always a true gentleman.
I have never seen Cole fight so hard. He went in there and never gave up, never stopped fighting. It was a fair division, and he dominated. He was a true champion. We are so proud of him. He feels devastated though. He's a kid. We explained to him that this is how life goes sometimes, unfair, and we have to learn to live with it. But he's right. It's not fair. If anything, Cole learned a lot through this tournament, and it was a great teaching experience. But I'd like to teach him that it's also okay to stand up for yourself when you are right and to not just roll over and take it. That was the whole point of my putting him in TKD in the first place, now wasn't it?
Anyway, read my comments to each video and check them out. Let me know if you see it differently. Honest feedback welcome. Thanks! -TJ
1st Match:
2nd Match:
3rd Match:
4th Match:
5th Match:
